Chapter 1205: Will you tell me, Penny?

The elders were a little worried about the children because this was not what they had expected. Seated in the living area, their faces were grim, and their eyes were full of concern.

"Grandma, they’re probably just very tired," Allison’s soft voice broke the heavy silence that had settled in the air. "It was a long flight, so it’s normal for them to want some rest."

Old Mrs. Pierson sighed, knowing Allison was simply trying to console her.

"My wife is right, Grandma," Charles offered Old Mrs. Pierson a gentle smile. "For sure, tomorrow they’ll all be talking nonstop about the trip. Right, Haines?"

Haines, who had been dragged in here just because he lived with his cousin, scanned their faces. He nodded even before he could fully process the situation, shifting his gaze to the stairs.

"Hopefully," he said quietly.

But at the back of Haines’ mind, Charles and Allison weren’t exactly sure. Penny, Slater, and Hugo were acting quite normally—nothing really could faze those three. Sometimes, they would stare blankly at nothing for no apparent reason, just because it was fun. But Atlas? They knew something had happened.

The question was, what?

******

[Hours ago]

"Yes."

When Penny’s quiet voice slipped past her lips, there was nothing but silence that followed. Atlas’s poker face remained unchanging, his eyes locked on her. Hugo, on the other hand, couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

"Hang on," Hugo let out a confused laugh, scratching his temple with his index finger. "Penny, you’re not telling me you’re actually going along with First Brother’s silly idea, right? I mean, rebirth? What is this, a fantasy story? If I were you, I’d just tell First Brother to stop whatever idea is growing in his mind."

Atlas glanced at Hugo. "Hugo, I might not say anything to you now, but I remember every word you say."

Hugo almost choked, sensing a chill down his spine.

Uh oh.

"I am not being silly," Atlas shifted his eyes back to Penny, then caught Zoren’s gaze. "I assumed she already told you about it as well?"

Zoren didn’t answer immediately, but when he did, he saw no reason to deny anything. "Yes."

"And you?" Atlas cast a side-eye at Slater, who was seated beside him. "You’ve known about it all along?"

Slater lowered his eyes, not answering his brother. But his silence wasn’t enough to stop Atlas from speaking.

"So that time..." Atlas trailed off, recalling something from the past. "It was you?"

"Huh?"

"That time I also died in an accident. You were the one driving that red sports car, am I right?" he clarified, reminding Slater about the time Atlas had been conducting a personal investigation into Allen’s case, which led to Sven’s imprisonment.

Atlas had almost been in an accident, and if it weren’t for the red sports car ramming into the other car, he couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to him. However, when he came home and checked Slater’s car, something just didn’t sit well with him.

Later, Butler Jen had reminded Atlas of the sports car. The latter hadn’t meant to, but he had mentioned that Slater hadn’t been taking his sports car home. When Atlas asked, Butler Jen innocently mentioned that Slater had two identical red sports cars.

The only reason Atlas had let it go was that he didn’t think it mattered anymore. Allen had woken up and returned to work, Stephen Bennet was working with them, and Atlas had a lot on his plate, especially after entering Pierson Corporation.

Even so, it had lingered in the back of his mind.

"So?" Atlas arched a brow at Slater. "Is it true? That was you?"

Slater pursed his lips into a thin line and hung his head low. "Yes."

"..." Atlas opened his mouth, but even someone like him, who seemed to have an opinion on everything, didn’t know what to say at the moment.

"Wait, can you guys please make sense of this?" Hugo, growing frustrated and more confused by the situation, pushed himself up from behind Zoren’s seat. He walked to the side, facing the four of them. "Penny, Slater, I know you’re scared of First Brother, but don’t forget that even if he’s the oldest, you have a responsibility to correct him when he’s being ridiculous! This is just plain nonsense!"

Penny, Slater, and Zoren slowly turned to Hugo. Their expressions were mild and defeated. The usual traces of distress under Atlas’s pressure were nowhere to be seen. What Hugo could only see were his younger siblings looking at him as if they, too, hoped this wasn’t happening—not because they were forced to lie, but because it seemed like the truth was the only answer they could give.

"What...?" Hugo took a step back, studying their faces. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"Because no matter how ridiculous it sounds, it’s the truth," this time, Atlas was the one to answer him. He cast Hugo a side-eye and said, "Sit down and listen, Hugo. As the big brother, this is not the time for you to deny things just because you’ve never heard of them before. These are your little siblings talking. So, get it together. Mouth shut, ears open."

Hugo opened and closed his mouth, but with Atlas speaking, he had no choice but to listen. He reluctantly took a step back, sitting on the aisle side of the other seat, unable to join them at the table anymore. With that, Atlas nodded in satisfaction and then faced Penny once more.

"Before anything else..." Atlas shifted his eyes to Zoren. "Are you also...?"

"No," Zoren shook his head. "I could be, but I’m not sure. To cut the story short, I barely have memories of my childhood due to an accident and my health issues. So, it’s better to consider the answer ’no,’ for now, until I am certain."

"Are you sure?" Slater blurted out, his eyes on Zoren. "Are you sure you might... be just like us?"

Zoren furrowed his brows. "Should I not be?"

"Yes," Slater answered without thinking twice. "Because if you are, then I can’t trust you."

"And why is that?"

"..." This time, Slater didn’t answer and bit his tongue. "Just... because."

"I’m confused," Atlas remarked before Penny could even pry. "Start from the top. I want to understand everything first before you deal with your first life issues."

Raising his brows briefly, he lowered his head to look at Penny. "Will you tell me, Penny? What happened? To you, to us... to everyone?"